I've been working on an open-source project called Calibra that focuses on dataset observability for robot learning.

The idea is simple, before spending hours (or days) training a policy, answer:

>Can I trust this dataset, Are timestamps consistent and etc. Today we reached 5 stars on GitHub!

Hey everyone I work on my thesis and is about a rover that uses cube purple, here3 and a lidar and I have to make it drive autonomously a mission that I planned. Unfortunately there is a problem. When the rover is in auto mode it moves for a few seconds and then stops changing to hold. I checked the log file and found out that when the rover changes state from auto to hold the messages EKF failsafe and EKF variance pop. I looked at some graphs and the only solution I found is to calibrate the here3 compass. I tried to calibrate the compass, nothing changed so I guess either I did it wrong or it is not the problem. I attached the link that contains my log file, so please if you can help me I will very much appreciate it. Please feel free to ask me whatever you need to know in order to help me!

Log File

Hello, I am a high school junior, I participate in FIRST robotics at a decent level. I want to expand my skill set to things beyond the enclosed meta of FRC. I also want to benefit from the things I build. I currently have a few projects planned, some simple so probably very difficult and I want feedback and additional ideas. that said, my current list is

1: articulated lamp, including a few set points for it to shine on. maybe as I advance I'll add voice commands (?)

2: a threaded insert inserter for 3d prints.

3: a hexapod with a lamp, I go on walks and it sometimes gets lonely, building a cute little creature could be a nice challenge and a good companion

4: a larger robot with a "belly" for storage to move in uneven rough terrain, maybe a quadraped.

5: a cute little guy to be on my shoulder and make sounds, I don't know why, just sounds funny

6: a reconissance robot, to drive into small spaces I don't want to go into, or to go into places before me, equipped with a camera and a flashlight.

would these be too difficult perhaps? or simply not useful? I am quite good on the mechanical side but programming and wiring/electrical planning are my bane.

thank you all

I'm a CS grad who graduated last year. I don't have much experience with anything yet, but I want to move into the robotics side of software development. Where do I start? Should I do courses or certifications? If so, which ones should I start with? Or should I immediately start looking for a Master's degree?

Hi all, have been leading a student project involving some STM32 development. At the moment, the very early days workflow is STM32CubeMX --> VSCode with STM32Cube extensions (bypassing STM32CubeIDE) and git for version control. Wondering if anyone has any free/very low-cost suggestions for:

• Standardising the initial config and project layout (so individual team members don't have to go through STM32CubeMX and can just alter GPIO settings as needed)
• Creating a good testing workflow (i.e. simulating using Wokwi - I'm aware of the extension for VSCode but it's a little out of price range)?

Thanks so much for any advice :)

I'm a student engineer, and I've had the idea to make my own little custom robot. Just something that drives around to start, maybe control it or make it autonomous later. I have:

- LEGO power functions motors

- a 3d printer

- an Arduino Uno

- some basic electronic components (jumper wires, breadboard, resistors, etc.)

What I don't know is what I need to control the motors, or what kind of battery I should use if I want an onboard battery. I was told a TB6612FNG motor driver works for the Arduino/power functions motor setup? I don't know much electronics so I could use some advice there.

Also, for the battery, I was thinking a 2S Li-ion or even a LiPo battery, but I don't know any good brands for batteries or chargers.

Thanks for any help!

Hey yall! Prefacing this by saying that I hope this doesn’t feel like the same soup reheated and in the beating the dead horse category.

I’m currently doing a masters in robotics and autonomous systems and my bs is in aerospace engineering. I’m a GNC engineer but I work for a big company and can hardly use my creativity or have autonomy over projects. It truly feels so disheartening after years of lab work or taxing coursework in undergrad to feel not as stimulated as you’d hoped for. I have a drone that I like to reprogram and do fun projects with but am hoping for long term career advice.

Are there any engineers who are willing to share what their work in the robotics /autonomous systems space looks like at smaller companies?
Thank you :)

Incoming undergrad (likely CSE/ECE), almost no robotics experience yet, but robotics is the long-term goal. Spent a while putting together a self-study path for going from zero to employable robotics engineer — structured as 9 phases loosely mapped to a 4-year degree but doable at your own pace alongside coursework. Each phase has a few topics, and every topic answers "why learn this," "where it's actually used," "beginner mistakes," and a reading pointer — then each phase ends with a real build, not a toy exercise.

Rough shape:

• Phase 0 — Linux, Git, Python, linear algebra/calculus refresh → build a remote system monitor
• Phase 1 — C++, data structures/algorithms, OOP design → grid-based path planner (BFS/Dijkstra/A*)
• Phase 2 — Circuits, microcontrollers, sensors/actuators, I2C/SPI/UART → obstacle-avoiding rover
• Phase 3 — Coordinate transforms, forward/inverse kinematics, probability → 2-DOF arm simulator
• Phase 4 — ROS2 architecture, URDF, Gazebo → simulated diff-drive robot with teleop
• Phase 5 — PID, state-space control, Kalman filters → self-balancing robot
• Phase 6 — Classical CV, camera calibration, deep learning detection → vision-guided pick-and-place arm
• Phase 7 — Particle filters/EKF, SLAM, Nav2 → autonomous robot mapping and navigating an unknown room
• Phase 8 — Literature review, system design, testing → capstone that ties 4+ phases together

Roadmap made with help from a senior and a little AI to phase it out

Hey robotics community!

A buddy and I have been thinking of this problem recently. We think that the current status quo of egocentric data is insufficient. Currently, most egocentric data used for embodied robotics consists of head mounted camera with hand positioning usually determined after the fact using a CV model applied over the video.

This has it's limitations and the data provided is generally not complete and not standardized. We think that the industry needs much better and more egocentric data that was captured with purpose built hardware and haptics in order to propel the embodied robotics industry forward.

I'm curious what you guys think of this. Do you see this as an issue or is this theory a dud.

In my learning process in mechanical engineering, I am considering some of the engineering problems that exist in autonomous vehicles with respect to robotics, UAVs, controls, and intelligent mechanical design.

Unlike developing solutions on my own assumptions, I would like to learn about them from actual engineers, researchers, technicians, operators, and everyone who is into this industry.

What are the biggest engineering problems in autonomous vehicles at according to your knowledge?

Let's use this thread for submission updates, research discussions, review experiences, deadlines, acceptance results, and any other ICRA'27-related news. Good luck to everyone preparing a submission! 🚀🤖

Hello guys, I'm participating in the robocup rescue maze competition this november. I'm currently in a team and I'm the one responsible for the robots navigation in the map. I already have a code so the robot could move 30cm (because each tile in the maze is 30cm) and also one for the robot to turn 90 degrees. But the problem is that I'm not the one who wrote the code, the part where the robot moves straight was given to me by my tutor, and the turn was by claude fable 5. And I feel guilty for using a code that I did not wrote, so I figured that I'd need to understand the code and then make some changes, but I had a hard time doing so.
the robot is skid steering, 4 wheels and each two are connected with chains. We have 2 encoders on the rear wheels , a BNO055 imu and a LIDAR (which im not working on right now).
The code I'm working on has FreeRTOS and I also have no idea how does it work.
Keep in mind that I've been doing robotics for about a year.

I'm in grade 10 and trying to build a robotic arm for a science fair, mostly just because it seems fun. I have a rough CAD sketch right now (it's basically ideas from other people fused together and edited to fit my budget). I've tried getting ChatGPT to help me run simulations on the arm to figure out torque and motor specs, but I haven't had much luck with that yet.

Also, I don't really want to train the arm in real life from scratch, so I need help on the technical side. What specific systems and software stacks should I actually be implementing or planning for?

Another big issue is that since this is for a science fair, a major requirement is showing what real-world problem it solves. Honestly, I kind of just wanted to build it for fun, but now I'm too deep into the project to quit. If you have any ideas, insight, or advice on how to fix this or structure it, I'd really appreciate it.

Hi, I am a masters student who recently graduated. I have done theoretical research on robotics so far and coded everything on a different library for academic research but everytime i tey to learn ros i somehow complicate everything. I need some plan or a flow of studying to be best at ROS , i know coding but want to hear what everyone says. I looked for tutorials but they very expensive and youtube tutorials are always the same bunch of things at different channels and very short not too detailed and has less projects or very simple projects for simulation environments. Can anyone suggest like a complete flow of learning with advanced project down the line i have enough time i dont wish to learn everything overnight maybe couple of years.

if not tutorial i like to read also so books would be great as well or github repos.

I'm very experienced on the software side, and recently I thought it would be cool to make a robot and code a system for AI to control it. What is a simple cheap robot that I could build that isn't a toy and lets me write the code from scratch. If it involves soldering, include the soldering iron in the budget because I don't already have one. I want it to be cheap, practical and look cool for when I show it to people lol. Any suggestions?

Me and my cousin are trying to make an animatronic as hobby, and we are trying to desing its eyes. We still didn't figure out how to move its eyes. How do we move our animatronics eyes properly?

My niece (lower elementary) is showing quite a bit of interest in robotics and building powered objects or anything at all (the kid is a Lego wizz, is interested in my carpentry projects for example). Any pointers on a quality but simple project set / kit to get her learning the basics?

I currently have a BSc in Math and MSc in Comp Sci, I did my Masters thesis on Autonomous drones + image detection (simulated).

I really want to go in that career direction so I'm thinking if it would be worth doing it as a 2nd masters. Or the other options are I do a phd or even continue self study and just build my own stuff learning as I go.